The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus comprising storage devices used for forming an image, some of which has a large access speed, such as an RAM or the like, and some of which has a large capacity, though with a small access speed, such as a hard disk device.
Conventionally, a digital copying machine has come to be widely used as an image forming apparatus. This image forming apparatus has an electronic sort copying function that an input image read by a scanner, which is an image reading device, is compressed and stored as image information in a page memory provided with a file area partitioned in pages each as a unit and thereafter, this image information is expanded and printed (formation of a visual image on a medium) and a predetermined number of copies of each document are produced, and a group or a stack function that the image information thus expanded is printed on the predetermined number of sheets for each page of the document.
In electronic sort copying, as one method, all the images of documents each comprising a plurality of pages are input from a scanner, the image information is compressed in a page memory to create a file and thereafter, the image information is read out for each document to be printed and the process of read and print is repeated to obtain a predetermined number of the same document.
In the course of creation of a file, a file area in a page memory is in excess of its storage capacity and there is a possibility that memory-full occurs. In such a case, conventionally, an input operation of a page image has been stopped half way and at this point some of image information of a page, which is already read in a scanner, but is still before storing in a file has been deleted and printing (image forming) has to be stopped. Moreover, after the memory-full condition is cleared, deleted image information of a page has to be again read after the original page sheet is again set on the scanner.
It has been well known that such an inconvenience as this occurs in the case where sheet jam occurs or in the case where a demand for execution of interrupt of a different job is accepted in an image copying operation and the image copying operation is restarted after the different job is finished.
As a method to solve such inconveniences, it is conceived that, for example, a hard disk device having a large storage capacity is used to increase a quantity of memory resources and thus a phenomenon of memory-full is prevented from occurring. However, there arises another inconvenience that this hard disk device does not have a large access speed and thereby an image forming operation such as electronic sort copying as a first thing of its kind is slowed down.
When inputting and printing of an image are concurrently operated, expansion and printing of the stored image information are operated after scanning of page images, compression and file creation are finished, so that a user has to wait for a while till printing of a first page is printed in a normal condition or after an discontinuance by a job interrupt or jam, but in a general copying operation, it is desirable that a printing result is output immediately after a user starts the operation.
As described above, a conventional image forming apparatus comprising storage devices used for forming an image, some of which has a large access speed, such as an RAM or the like, and some of which has a large capacity, though with a small access speed, such as a hard disk device, has a problem that a processing speed is slowed down, even if a storage capacity is increased by use of the hard disk device; since an input operation is suspended half way and an image information which has been read is deleted when a memory-full phenomenon or sheet jam occurs, or a job interrupt is demanded, there is another problem that operability is degraded; and besides, there are other various problems such as when inputting and printing of an image are concurrently operated, a user has to wait for a while till a first page is printed in a normal condition or after discontinuance by a job interrupt or jam.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus in which a processing speed is not reduced even when a storage capacity is increased by use of a large capacity storage device such as a hard disk device or the like, image information which has already been read is not deleted even when memory-full or sheet jam occurs or a different job interrupts in the course of image inputting, a user does not have to wait for a start of printing of a first page in a normal condition or after discontinuance by a job interrupt or jam when inputting and printing of images are concurrently operated, and the image forming with a large operating speed and excellent operability can be achieved.
An image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises: read means for reading image information of an original; storage means for storing the image information read in the read means; deciding means for deciding on whether an access speed of the storage means is small or large; setting means for setting a first image forming mode if the access speed of the storage means is small, or setting a second image forming mode if the access speed of the storage means is large, based on decision of the deciding means; selecting means for selecting one of the first and second image forming modes set by the setting means according to the decision made by the deciding means; and image forming means for forming an image on an image forming medium from the image information stored in the storage means in a selected image forming mode according to an output of the selecting means, wherein the image forming means comprises deleting means for deleting page image information from the storage means each time when a page image is formed, if the first image forming mode is selected.
An image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises: read means for reading image information of an original; storage means for storing the image information read by the read means; generating means for generating a signal showing whether the storage means has a large access speed or a small access speed; setting means for setting an image forming condition including a first sort mode if the access speed of the storage means is small, or a second sort mode if the access speed of the storage means is large, as a sort mode in which binding is carried out for each copy of the original in forming an image on an image forming medium from the image information stored in the storage means; selecting means for selecting one of the first and second sort modes set in the setting means according to an output signal of the generating means; and image forming means for forming an image on the image forming medium from the image information stored in the storage means based on the image forming condition including a sort mode selected according to an output of the selecting means.
An image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises: read means for reading image information of an original; storage means for storing the image information read by the read means; generating means for generating a signal showing whether the storage means has a large access speed or a small one; setting means for setting an image forming condition including a first sort mode if the access speed of the storage means is small, or a second sort mode if the access speed of the storage means is large, as a sort mode in which binding is carried out for each copy of the original in forming an image on an image forming medium from the image information stored in the storage means; selecting means for selecting one of the first and second sort modes as a running state of an image forming condition set by the setting means according to an output of the generating means; and image forming means for forming an image on the image forming medium from the image information stored in the storage means based on the image forming condition including a sort mode selected according to an output of the selecting means.
An image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises: read means for reading image information of an original; storage means for storing the image information read by the read means; setting means for setting execution of image forming in either a group mode in which formation of an image on an image forming medium from the image information stored in the storage means is conducted so as to produce a predetermined number of copies for each page of the original or a sort mode in which formation of an image on an image forming medium from the image information stored in the storage means is conducted so as to carry out binding for each copy of the original; first selecting means for selecting, as a running state of image formation set in the setting mode, either the group mode or the sort mode; second selecting means for selecting as a running state of the selected group mode according to an output of the first selecting means either a first deletion mode in which the image information of each original page is deleted from the storage means each time when image formation of the predetermined number of copies for the original page is finished or a second deletion mode in which the image information of all the original pages is in a lump is deleted from the storage means when image formation of the predetermined number of copies respectively for all the pages is finished; and deletion means for effecting the deletion in a lump after the image formation is executed in the sort mode if the second deletion mode is selected.
An image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises: read means for reading image information of an original; storage means for storing the image information read by the read means; generating means for generating a type signal showing whether the storage means is of a first type which has a small storage capacity or of a second type which has a large capacity; first detecting means for detecting that an unused area of the storage means is equal to or less than a first threshold value if the storage means is of the first type based on the type signal; second detecting means for detecting that an unused area of the storage means is equal to or less than a second threshold value larger than the first threshold value if the storage means is of the second type based on the type signal; effecting means for effecting a memory-full operation on the storage means according to an detection signal from the first or second detecting means; and image forming means for forming an image on an image forming medium from the image information stored in the storage means.
An image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises: read means for reading image information of an original; compressing means for compressing the read image information; storage means for storing the compressed image information in a file; effecting means for effecting a memory-full operation when a residual storage capacity of the storage means is at least equal to or less than a threshold value at which the image information, in which a page image of the maximum size readable by the read means is compressed in a file, can be stored; effecting means for effecting the memory full-operation on the storage means when the memory full occurs; executing means for executing a read operation of the original, and compression of and file creation for the read image information if the original is set on the read means when the memory-full operation is effected; and image forming means for forming an image on an image forming medium based on the image information stored in a file in the storage means.
An image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises: read means for reading image information of an original; storage means for storing the image information read by the read means; first detecting means for detecting whether or not a first storage device which has a large capacity and a small access speed as a storage means is included; second detecting means for detecting whether or not a second storage device which has a large access speed and a storage capacity equal to or more than a predetermined value is included; and control means comprising a concurrent operation control table for controlling switching between a job in run and a following job and contents of the concurrent operations based on detection results of the first and second detecting means; running means for running a predetermined job under control by the control means.
An image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises: read means for reading image information of an original; storage means for storing the image information read by the read means; detecting means for detecting the provision of a large capacity storage apparatus which has a small access speed as the storage means; setting means for setting self-diagnostic mode of the large capacity storage device when power is applied; securing means for securing a volume of a predetermined quantity in the interior of the large capacity storage device if a specific command is given in a condition set in self-diagnostic mode; volume storage means for storing the image information in the volume; and image forming means for forming an image on the image forming medium based on the image information stored in the volume under a predetermined image forming condition.
An image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises: read means for reading image information of an original; storage means for storing the image information read by the read means; first file creating means for creating a file in a compressed condition for the image information stored in the storage means; second file creating means for creating a file for the image information stored in the storage means in a condition of being compressed and rotated by 90 degrees; third file creating means for creating a file for the image information stored in the storage means in a condition of being compressed and rotated by 180 degrees; fourth file creating means for creating a file for the image information stored in the storage means in a condition of being compressed and rotated by 270 degrees; and image forming means for forming an image on the image forming medium based on the image information stored in a file under a predetermined image forming condition.
An image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises: read means for reading image information of an original; storage means for storing the image information read by the read means; deciding means for deciding whether an access speed of the storage means is small or large; setting means for setting a first image forming mode if the storage means has a small access speed, or setting a second image forming mode if the storage means has a large access speed based on the deciding means; selecting means for selecting one of the first and second image forming modes according to a decision made by the deciding means; image forming means for forming an image on the image forming medium based on the stored image information in the storage means in an image forming mode selected according to an output of the selecting means, wherein the image forming means comprises executing means for storing the image information of the original in the storage means after reading the image information by the read means and concurrently executing image formation of a first page in a normal condition or at restart after discontinuance of an operation.
With the above mentioned constitutions, there can be provided an image forming apparatus in which a processing speed is not reduced even when a storage capacity is increased by use of a large capacity storage device such as a hard disk device or the like, image information which has already been read is not deleted even when memory-full or sheet jam occurs or a different job interrupts is present in the course of image inputting, a user does not have to wait for a while start of printing of a first page in a normal condition or after discontinuance by a job interrupt or jam when inputting and printing of images are concurrently operated, and image forming with a large operating speed and excellent operability can be achieved.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinbefore.